For as long as Madeline could remember, her dad was extremely secretive about his work. She remembered when she was a little girl, running to hug her dad when he came through the front door. She'd ask him if he had a good day and if he did anything special.
"I help keep the world in order." Was all he would tell her. Being so young, she had no idea what he was talking about. She'd ask what he meant and he would always tell her; "When you're older, you'll understand. When you're older, I'll show you."
Now, Madeline had just turned eighteen and she still didn't know what her father did for a living. Eventually, she just figured that he worked for the government. CIA most likely, considering how secretive he was. Nevertheless, she still wanted to know for sure.
Her father had an office that he kept locked at all times. Even when he was inside, no one was allowed in. Not even the maid. Madeline was determined to find out what her father was hiding. Even if it meant breaking in...and possibly getting caught.
"Maddie!" He called out from the first floor. Madeline headed down the stairs and wandered into the kitchen. Her father was grabbing his coat off the back of a dining chair.
"What's up, dad?" She asked.
"Something came up at work and I have to leave for a little bit. Will you be alright by yourself?" He asked as he slipped into his coat. Madeline shrugged.
"Sure, I guess. It's no different than all the other times..." She looked away and sighed. She felt her father's hands on her shoulders.
"You'll find out soon, honey. I promise." He assured her. Madeline turned back to face him again. "As soon as this...stuff gets taken care of, I'll take you with me." Madeline smiled weakly and nodded. "Good girl." He kissed her head and headed towards the door.
"Love you, dad." She called after him. He turned around to face her.
"Love you too, Maddie-bear." He replied. Madeline snickered softly. That never failed to make her smile. Her father turned on his heel and headed out, closing the door behind him. It locked automatically and Madeline made her way back upstairs.
At the top, she looked down the hallway to the door at the end; her father's office. She knew he had the only key and kept it with him at all times. But this was modern times and everyone had access to the internet. Which meant that she could very easily enter the search term "how to pick locks".
So, that's what she did. Madeline went into her bathroom and grabbed several bobby pins from the drawer. She headed back towards the door and knelt in front of it. It looked pretty simple in the movies and the internet proved...somewhat helpful.
It took her several tries, and five pins, before she finally heard the CLICK! of the door unlocking. Her heart thumped in her chest as she pulled the pin out of the lock and put all the extra ones into her pocket. She turned the handle and opened the door.
Madeline flipped the light switch and the room was flooded with light. There were dark colored curtains drawn shut over each window. The room was...surprisingly bare. The only furniture was a beautiful wooden desk with a chair sitting in front of it. There were no filing cabinets, no bookshelves... Madeline furrowed her brows as she stepped into the room.
She pursed her lips and made her way around the desk. There were several drawers. Surprisingly, none of which were locked. Madeline pulled open the middle drawer at the center of the desk. There was a lone folder inside. She sat down in the chair and placed the folder on the surface of the desk. Something told her this was an important folder. The way it was right in the center of the desk for easy access and nothing else was with it.
Madeline opened the folder and saw numerous papers. She tried to read some of them, but didn't understand most of the scientific jargon scribbled down. A few pages in, she saw her dad's signature at the bottom of the page. Curious, she read the document from the top.
Again, she didn't understand a lot of the wording. But the few words she did understand caused her to seriously wonder what exactly her father did for a living. Target eliminated... no collateral damage... unknown subject interfered... neutralization unsuccessful... identity still unknown... asset placed in containment...
"What the hell is all this?" Madeline flipped through the document until she came across a strange picture. "Dad...what do you do for a living...?" She picked up the picture and held it as she tried to make sense of what she was looking at.
The picture seemed kind of old. The corners were worn and rounded and the picture itself seemed somewhat faded. But it was still visible. There was a man who looked like he was trapped in some kind of metal tube. The picture was of him...sleeping? But...were those ice crystals in his hair? Was this man...frozen?
"You inherited your mother's curiosity, I see." Madeline jerked her head up and dropped the picture on the desk.
"Dad! I..." She stood up from the chair and stammered. Her father just stood in the doorway with his hands behind his back. "I...I'm sorry. I just..." She tripped over her words, trying to talk her way out of trouble.
"I'm not mad, Maddie." He held his hand up to silence her. "I knew I couldn't keep you in the dark forever. You're my daughter. You're resourceful. I knew you'd probably figure out a way to get in here sooner or later." He couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.
"You're...not mad?" She asked nervously. Her father shook his head.
"No. If anything, I think you've proved that you're quite ready to see what I do for a living now." He informed her. Madeline opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. "I was hoping to introduce you to my work when it's less...chaotic," he began, "but it might be good for you."
"Will...I have to do anything? Or am I just observing?" She asked.
"Just observing, this time." Her dad replied. "Next time, I'll have you shadowing the medical team. I know how much you enjoy learning about those kinds of things." Madeline smiled slightly and nodded. "Alright. Get your shoes on and let's go." He instructed her.
"Wh...We're going now?" She looked at her father with wide eyes. He merely nodded.
"I'll wait for you in the car. No more than ten minutes." He said. That was something she didn't like too much, but had grown accustomed to. Her grandfather - her father's father - was a military man and passed that on to her dad. Madeline never gave much thought about serving, but she respected those who did. She didn't think she was cut out for it, though. She didn't care much for how strict they were.
"I'll be quick." She replied. He nodded and headed downstairs. Madeline left the office and turned the light off. She made her way to her bedroom and slipped her sneakers on. Then, she grabbed a hair tie from her dresser and pulled her brown hair into a messy bun before heading down the stairs. She grabbed her house key off the entry table and locked the door.
Outside, the sun hadn't set completely and the horizon was streaked with oranges and reds. She took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp end-of-spring-beginning-of-summer air. In her stomach, she felt a flutter of nervousness mixed with excitement as she rounded her father's car and hopped into the passenger seat.
"Hey dad?" Madeline asked after they had been in the car for a few minutes.
"Yeah?" He didn't take his eyes off the road.
"Who was that guy? The guy in the picture?"
"A very important part of my job." He replied. Madeline frowned.
"Doesn't he have a name? Or a family?" She prodded. Her father turned down dark back road.
"We're like his family. My co-workers and I." He said. It didn't exactly answer Madeline's question and she felt like he was trying to avoid giving her a straight reply. She sighed inwardly, but didn't push the issue.
I guess I can't know everything right off the bat... Madeline looked out the window as her father drove down the dark and bumpy road. There was nothing but a big empty field on either side of her. No streetlights...She couldn't even see any houses.
"Where are we going?" She asked nervously.
"Safe house." Madeline pulled out her cell phone to check the time. It was just after nine and she noticed she barely had a signal. She chewed on her lower lip and looked up to see a large house looming in the distance.
"Whoa..." She muttered under her breath. House? More like a mansion! The safe house seemed to tower much higher than a normal house. From the look of it, there seemed to be four or five floors. "Do people live here, or something?" She asked.
"Only staff that need to remain on site." Her dad said as he pulled into the driveway. Madeline didn't see any other cars, but there was a three car garage that was closed up. There very well could have been several people already waiting inside for them.
Madeline and her father got out of the car and headed up the sidewalk to the porch. Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID card that he swiped over the lock on the door. She heard several locks opening from the other side of the door before it finally opened. He motioned for her to enter first, and Madeline took a few hesitant steps through the doorway.
"Unauthorized person has entered the premises. Security personnel have been notified." An automated female voice said from somewhere. Madeline looked around and noticed a few speakers mounted to the entryway walls.
"Security override. Clearance code AP one-one-zero-four-two." Her father spoke up as he stepped inside. The door shut automatically behind them. Madeline looked around and saw that most of the rooms were empty. The windows had several bars welded against them. She wondered what kind of things went on here.
"Welcome, Alexander Pierce." The AI greeted her father. A few moments later, a tall dark haired man walked down the hallway towards them. He eyed Madeline warily and she swallowed nervously.
"Sir," he stopped in front of her father, "we expected you a little sooner."
"I understand." He replied. "Had something I needed to take care of. This is my daughter, Madeline. She'll be working with us soon." He introduced her and she smiled at the man. He just seemed to stare at her. She was slightly uncomfortable, but did her best to ignore it.
"Hello." She said softly.
"Maddie, this is Brock Rumlow." Madeline held her hand out and Brock gripped it firmly as they shook hands.
"Nice to meet you." She said politely. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile.
"Likewise." He replied before releasing her hand. "We should head downstairs, Sir." The two men headed down the hallway, and Madeline trailed behind them. The hallway led them into a kitchen that had a table and a few chairs around it. Brock led them through the kitchen and down a very short hallway that had one door at the end. He opened it and led Madeline and her father down a set of stairs into the basement.
The basement looked like a jail. There was a fairly large hallway that Brock led them down that had a few rooms on each side. There looked to be ten rooms total, five on each side. All the doors were opened, but she could see they were solid metal with a slot to see through at eye level.
At the end of the hall, there was a huge room that had no door. It was just the end of the hall. She could see other people in the room. They were walking back and forth. Some had white coats on; lab coats. Probably the medical team that she would be shadowing.
The three of them walked into the open area and Madeline looked around nervously. Her father walked over to a small group of the medical personnel and began talking with them about something. They all seemed to be gathered around...something. Madeline started to make her way over to them, but she felt a hand on her arm. She turned around and saw Brock behind her.
"Madeline, is it?" He asked her. She nodded, trying to nonchalantly slip out of his grasp. "I look forward to working with you. Seeing what you can do." She watched his eyes roam over her, as if he was checking her out. It made her slightly uncomfortable. He let go of her arm and smiled at her.
"She needs to be taken out, and he's the one for the job." Someone from the group her father was talking to said. Madeline turned her attention to them.
"Then let him do it. What's the problem?" Her father asked.
"Nothing...Nothing at all."
"Then you called me all the way out here for nothing?" Madeline could hear the agitation in his voice.
"No! No." The person reassured him. "He's just...remembering things. We can't figure out why, but - "
"Then fix it. You know how. I'm not your babysitter." Her father snapped. Madeline couldn't remember seeing him like that before. The group dispersed and her father followed one of the men to a computer. It was then she could see what they were all gathered around. Or rather, who they were gathered around.
It was the man from the photo.